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Company type | Privately held company |
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Industry | Medical cannabis |
Founded | 2005Tel Aviv, Israel | in
Headquarters | , Israel |
Areas served | Worldwide |
Owner | ben rosen |
Website | tikunca |
Tikun Olam ("To heal the world") is a company that grows and supplies medical marijuana and is licensed and supervised by the Ministry of Health in Israel, the first of its kind in that country.
Tikun Olam started out as a non-profit in 2005. Then, after regulation in 2010, the company became a limited company. The company is primarily engaged in growing and developing medical cannabis and medical cannabis products. In 2012, the company garnered extensive local and global media coverage as the result of developing a strain of medical marijuana that contains a higher-than-normal amount of cannabidiol and less than 2% of the psychoactive substance THC, which was a new development in the industry. [1]
At the end of the 1990s, Israel's Ministry of Health wanted to allow the use of cannabis for medical needs. Holding companies were granted licenses, and individual licenses were granted to certain users to grow their plants. For a while, cannabis was distributed for free in police stations, but this changed following police opposition.
In 2005 the founder of Tikun Olam, Tzahi Cohen, contacted the Ministry of Health and communicated the need to grow 100 cannabis plants for medical purposes (without compensation) on behalf of patients who had received permission to use cannabis and cannabis products for health reasons but had difficulty in obtaining cannabis itself. Growing medical cannabis, Cohen focused on raising one strain, licensed and supervised by the Ministry of Health and the Israel Police. The final product, cannabis inflorescence, was transferred to Professor Mechoulam at the Hebrew University regularly to check the percentage of active ingredients. The investigation showed that the breed of cannabis, named after one of the company's patients who died, Erez, contained 23% of the active ingredients. In view of the impressive results of laboratory tests, and with the rise in the number of permits issued by the Ministry of Health, it was decided to extend the company's growing license and relocate to the north of the country to increase plant growth and improve security.
In 2010 The Ministry of Health regulated the issue of medical marijuana in Israel, and for the first time allowed Tikun Olam to collect 360 NIS per month for the service. At first, it was stressed that the payment is the accessibility of care and service that comes with it (as in 2013 cost of treatment was 370 NIS per month according to the Ministry of Health). Consequently, the market was opened and five more companies joined the industry to grow and provide medical marijuana.
In February 2010, Tikun Olam became a limited company. In 2012 the company received a stamp of approval from the Standards Institute of Israel in the areas of growth, production, sale, and distribution of medical marijuana, as well as in patient care. In 2013 the company received another stamp of approval in the area of food standards.
As of 2013, the company provided medical marijuana for some 3,000 patients (out of 11,000 patients with active licenses) at a monthly cost of 370 NIS. The company has about 50 employees who received a license to work from the Ministry of Health including agronomists, researchers, chemists, and other professionals related to botany and medicine. [2]
As of 2022, the company is owned by Barak Rosen, who is also the owner of Israel-Canada Group, largest real estate company in Israel by cap value. [3]
The company's facilities are located in the north of Israel and are under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and the Israel Police and under constant security. The principal activity of the company is growing and developing strains of medical cannabis with a high percentage of active ingredients for medical treatments, and the extraction of these materials for the preparation of cannabis products, such as edible capsules. The testing and approval of active substances were handled by Professor Mechoulam in Hebrew University, as were quality checks.
The company's breakthrough came in the middle of 2012 when it was able to develop a unique strain of medical marijuana that does not contain the psychoactive substance THC, producing no sense of intoxication, and yet had anti-inflammatory properties of the plant called cannabidiol, or CBD. This achievement led to the Ministry of Information and Diaspora holding a press conference at the company's facilities for leading media outlets in Israel and abroad to report this breakthrough.
As of 2014, Tikun Olam grows 12 different strains, including two species of medical cannabis containing 1% THC and 17% CBD (cannabidiol).
A 5.7-hectare (14-acre) indoor cultivation facility was opened in 2019 by the Tikun Olam California in Adelanto, a city just outside the Los Angeles area. [4]
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis and one of at least 113 total cannabinoids identified on the plant. Although the chemical formula for THC (C21H30O2) describes multiple isomers, the term THC usually refers to the delta-9-THC isomer with chemical name (−)-trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol. THC is a terpenoid found in cannabis and, like many pharmacologically active phytochemicals, it is assumed to be involved in the plant's evolutionary adaptation against insect predation, ultraviolet light, and environmental stress. THC was first discovered and isolated by Israeli chemist Raphael Mechoulam in Israel in 1964. It was found that, when smoked, THC is absorbed into the bloodstream and travels to the brain, attaching itself to endocannabinoid receptors located in the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and basal ganglia. These are the parts of the brain responsible for thinking, memory, pleasure, coordination and movement.
Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions, resulting in limited clinical research to define the safety and efficacy of using cannabis to treat diseases.
Cannabinoids are several structural classes of compounds found in the cannabis plant primarily and most animal organisms or as synthetic compounds. The most notable cannabinoid is the phytocannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (delta-9-THC), the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis. Cannabidiol (CBD) is also a major constituent of temperate cannabis plants and a minor constituent in tropical varieties. At least 113 distinct phytocannabinoids have been isolated from cannabis, although only four have been demonstrated to have a biogenetic origin. It was reported in 2020 that phytocannabinoids can be found in other plants such as rhododendron, licorice and liverwort, and earlier in Echinacea.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a phytocannabinoid discovered in 1940. It is one of 113 identified cannabinoids in cannabis plants, along with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and accounts for up to 40% of the plant's extract. As of 2022, clinical research on CBD included studies related to the treatment of anxiety, addiction, psychosis, movement disorders, and pain, but there is insufficient high-quality evidence that cannabidiol is effective for these conditions. CBD is also sold as a herbal dietary supplement promoted with unproven claims of particular therapeutic effects.
Cannabis ruderalis is a variety, subspecies, or species of Cannabis native to Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. It contains a relatively low quantity of psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Some scholars accept C. ruderalis as its own species due to its unique traits and phenotypes which distinguish it from C. indica and C. sativa; others debate whether ruderalis is a subdivision under C. sativa.
Geoffrey William Guy is a British pharmacologist, physician, businessman and academic, who co-founded GW Pharmaceuticals and has developed treatments using compounds found in cannabis, which are the first cannabis-based medicines approved by and available on the British National Health Service (NHS).
Raphael Mechoulam was a Bulgarian-born Israeli organic chemist and a professor in the Department of Natural Materials at the School of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Medicine of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Mechoulam served as Rector of the university from 1979-1982. He was elected to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 1994 and served as its scientific chair from 2007-2013. He was a recipient of the Israel Prize for Chemistry Research in 2000 and the Harvey Prize for 2019-2020.
Cannabis strains are either pure or hybrid varieties of the plant genus Cannabis, which encompasses the species C. sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis.
Hash oil or cannabis oil is an oleoresin obtained by the extraction of cannabis or hashish. It is a cannabis concentrate containing many of its resins and terpenes – in particular, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and other cannabinoids. Hash oil is usually consumed by smoking, vaporizing or eating. Preparations of hash oil may be solid or colloidal depending on both production method and temperature and are usually identified by their appearance or characteristics. Color most commonly ranges from transparent golden or light brown, to tan or black. There are various extraction methods, most involving a solvent, such as butane or ethanol.
The International Nonproprietary Name dronabinol, also known under the trade names Marinol and Syndros is a generic name for the molecule of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the pharmaceutical context. It has indications as an appetite stimulant, antiemetic, and sleep apnea reliever and is approved by the FDA as safe and effective for HIV/AIDS-induced anorexia and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting only.
Charlotte's Web is a brand of high-cannabidiol (CBD), low-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products derived from industrial hemp and marketed as dietary supplements and cosmetics under federal law of the United States. It is produced by Charlotte's Web, Inc. in Colorado. Hemp-derived products do not induce the psychoactive "high" typically associated with recreational marijuana strains that are high in THC. Charlotte's Web hemp-derived products contain less than 0.3% THC.
Cannabis in Iowa is illegal for recreational use if classified as marijuana but consumable hemp products including CBD products are legal for consumers to possess and registered retailers to sell. Possession of even small amounts of marijuana is a misdemeanor crime. The state has a medical program for patients with qualifying debilitating medical conditions that allows for the legal sale and possession of no more than 4.5g of THC per patient every 90-day period. Allowed modes of consumption are oral & topical forms including, but not limited to; tablets and tinctures, nebulizable inhalable forms, suppositories, and vaporization.
Cannabis in Missouri is legal for recreational use. A ballot initiative to legalize recreational use, Amendment 3, passed by a 53–47 margin on November 8, 2022. Possession for adults 21 and over became legal on December 8, 2022, with the first licensed sales occurring on February 3, 2023.
The possession, use, and distribution of cannabis without a license in the State of Israel are violations under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. A decade ago, despite these regulations, enforcement was relatively lax, partially influenced by a political movement advocating tolerance. Over the years, the enforcement approach has progressively become more lenient. As of 2021, cannabis use has been fully decriminalized, with it being treated as an administrative infraction primarily when used in highly visible public places. There is a possibility that cannabis may be legalized for recreational use by adults aged 21 and older in the future, with regulations akin to those for alcohol. Public and cross-party political support for the complete decriminalization of cannabis increased in the 2010s with increasing usage for both medical and recreational purposes, and the establishment of a political party primarily devoted to this cause; on July 19, 2018, the Knesset approved a bill for decriminalization, although the supporters of recreational cannabis use insisted that this did not represent complete decriminalization. The law came into effect on April 1, 2019. On June 25, 2020, further legislation designed to decriminalize possession of up to 50 grams of cannabis began its passage through the Knesset.
In Thailand, cannabis, known by the name Ganja has recently had new laws passed through. Cannabis that has less than 0.2% THC, referred to as industrial hemp in USA, was legalised on 9 June 2022. Medicinal cannabis, with no THC restrictions, was made legal in 2018 but required patients to obtain a prescription from a medical practitioner. Recreational cannabis is still illegal according to Thai law.
Medical cannabis research includes any medical research on using cannabis. Different countries conduct and respond to medical cannabis research in different ways.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the plant Cannabis sativa and its relatives Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis, the drug cannabis (drug) and the industrial product hemp.
Cannabinoids, including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active drug in cannabis, can also be produced by bioengineered yeast, a process colloquially known as pharming. In 2007, a research group reported the successful transgenic placement of a THCA synthase gene from Cannabis plant into the Pichia pastoris yeast, giving the yeast the ability to turn the precursor molecule cannabigerolic acid into THCA. In 2019, researchers at University of California, Berkeley reported in Nature that they had bioengineered yeast able to completely synthesize THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids, using only sugar as a food.
Δ-8-tetrahydrocannabinol is a psychoactive cannabinoid found in the Cannabis plant. It is an isomer of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound commonly known as THC.